JALUR GEMILANG: SYMBOL OF OUR PRIDE

By Zulkiple Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- This Sunday, Aug 31, Malaysians will be celebrating the 51st anniversary of the country's independence.

With the event only days away, the Malaysian flag 'Jalur Gemilang' can be
seen flying proudly lining up the streets apart from at government and public
buildings, houses as well as commercial complexes and premises in this city and
other towns nationwide.

Malaysians, in general, understand the meaning of the colours and features
of the national flag but not many exactly know how the flag came about.

COMPETITION

According to the National Archives, the flag of the Federation of Malay
States was officially unveiled on May 26,1950.

With the consent of the Malay Rulers, a special committee was set up to
organize a competition to choose a design deemed suitable to be turned into the
official flag of the Federation of Malay States.

The competition drew 373 entries. Out of these, only three made it to the
final list and were presented to the Malay Rulers for a decision to be
made.

Hence, on April 19, 1950, on the advice of the Federal Legislative
Council and after being consented to by the Malay Rulers, the design of the
existing national flag was chosen as the official flag of the Federation of
Malay States.

WHITE COLOUR

Initially, the colour of the flag's star and crescent was white but on the
advice of the Malay Rulers, this was switched to yellow to mark the royal
colour.

On May 26, 1950, the flag made its first official appearance when it was
unveiled at the Sultan of Selangor's palace in Kuala Lumpur.

Among those who were present at the ceremony were the Sultan of Selangor
and representatives of Malay Rulers like Abdul Wahab Abdul Aziz (Perak Chief
Minister), Mahmud Mat (Pahang Chief Minister), Onn Jaafar (Johor
Chief Minister), Nik Ahmad Kamil Mahmud (Kelantan Menteri Besar), Raja Ahmad
Raja Endut (Perlis Chief Minister), Tunku Ismail Tunku Yahya (Kedah Chief
Minister) and Abdul Malek Yusuf (Negeri Sembilan Chief Minister Besar).

At 9.38am that day, the British High Commissioner for Malaya, Sir Henry
Gurney, hoisted the Federation of Malay States flag on behalf of the state
dignitaries.

From that moment, the Federation of Malay States had its own flag that
became the pride of the nation and its citizens.

RESEARCH BY NATIONAL ARCHIVES

According to the research held by the National Archives and based on
documents of the 'Clerk of Councils' , The Council Chamber, Kuala Lumpur as well
as that from the Johor Public Works Department, it was believed that the
designer of the Federation of Malay States flag was Mohamed Hamzah, an architect
with the state government of Johor.

The flag was named the Malaysian Flag in conjunction with the creation of
Malaysia in 1963. The 14 red and white stripes signify the 14 states in Malaysia
while the star also depicts 14 tips. There was no change in colour from the
original flag.

JALUR GEMILANG

In 1997, the Cabinet decided to name the flag Jalur Gemilang, a name for
all Malaysians to treasure, respect and be proud of.

The then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad officially
named the flag Jalur Gemilang at 11.58pm on Aug 30, 1997 at the Merdeka Square,
here.